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Monday, August 12, 2019

100 Rays Of Son - 92

The Noodle Boy

When I told Rayyan that I am going to write 100 stories from
his life, neither he nor I realized what it is going to be. His only request
for me to stay close to truth and not to say anything negative about others in
my posts. He also asked me not just to talk about his positive aspects, but negativity
as well. I have so far tried my best to give respect to his request but at
times his whole story looks incomplete without few mentions like the one I am
going to write now.

I was a spoilt girl who was not ready to be married off when
my parents actually got me married. I could cook fancy dishes I learned in Home
Science like cakes, chips, cutlets, jams, salads and biscuits but not regular
rice, sambhar or rotis, leave alone the coastal non-veg and fish dishes. I
could not even stand non-veg food for two consecutive days. Neither was I
trained like the typical housewife to manage household chores and struggled at
my in-laws. Since my husband worked in Dubai, I would be back with my parents
where life was comfortable for me. My mom never realized that we were grown up
even when we sprouted greys in our hairs, especially my brother who was always
her little boy. In short all four of us were spoilt children and the worst part
of it was that we were very proud of it, though we struggled to manage our lives.
Rayyan, when born was welcomed by this mom who was a little bit better at
managing her life. Fortunately, both Rayyan and Farheena were trained in all
household chores, though Farheena has quit most of it now.

At this stage, when Farheena was born, cancer happened and
other problems cropped up, I was busy handling life while the household chores,
cooking and cleaning never were my priority. They were also the tasks that I
did not like much.

Rayyan was not even 5 when I was diagnosed with cancer.
Since then he has tried his best to make life easier for me. I sometimes feel
he has overtaken even my mom in spoiling me. From choosing clothes that did not
require ironing to slowly taking care of himself like bathing, he made life
easier for me. He always put away his toys, books and other things neatly after
working on them. I did have much parenting to do. My mom loved cooking for him,
though the ghee content would be high which Rayyan did not like. At times she
would bring the ghee down or skip it totally to make him happy. I would prepare
fancy snacks for him like Alphabet crispies, sandwich with names for him and
his little friends, ice-creams, etc.

It was during this period, the sudden shifting to village
happened where we did not have basics like running water which made life
difficult for us; until we settled down and made changes with few necessary
required amenities. Not to say, we loved the rough life as well and enjoyed it
like an adventure.

Rayyan’s school was situated 28 km from our home and he had
to leave very early in the morning by school bus, thankfully which had a pickup
from our village. I had to get used to the different environment there and
start cooking on my own which was not easy. Rayyan, naturally guessed my
struggle and lent a helping hand in everything I did. He could not eat much
breakfast from before. He struggles with the first meal of the day and now he
had to eat before 7 a.m. which was not easy for him. I had to pack lunch for
him early. Since my mom always prepared anything he liked, I would usually ask
him a day before, what he would like for lunch next day. His usual answer was
Maggie, the instant noodles. At that time, I had not found any suitable school
to send Farheena. So, the lunch would be packed only for Rayyan. Since instant
noodles are easy to cook, like any lazy person I fell for it. So, most often
his lunch would be instant noodles, that is at least twice a week.

Food was an important part of lives of people there, unlike
in Bangalore. They spent 60% percent of their time around the food the family
would eat. They were filled with recipes of ground coconuts, fish and sea food
dishes, grand non-veg curries and many other fascinating foods. Biryani was a
struggling at the lower end of the ladder there. You can imagine how they must
have felt about the boy who brought instant noodles for lunch. Slowly some of
them nicknamed him Maggie. Rayyan never minded that and neither told me about
this. Earlier he had tough time pronouncing the phonetic ‘R’ sound and he was
nicknamed Lion the way he pronounced Rayyan by his previous schoolmates. He
actually liked the name and had asked whether he can change his name to Lion. I
told him the king of Jungle wouldn’t like it, so we have to respect him and let
it go.

One day, I got a call from his admin from school who cared a
lot about him from day one. After updating me about his progress and adjustment
in new school, he casually told me to pack his box with more nutritious food
like chapatis and rotis. Somehow, I became more alert and the frequency of
instant noodles came down.

Later, one of his classmates informed me that the guys at
school had nicknamed Rayyan ‘Maggie’ and were making fun of him. He wanted me
to make complaint to the school admin since Rayyan was not willing to do it.
Honestly, Rayyan will never know how infuriated I was at this revelation. It
was almost a year since this was going on and I was getting to know about this
now, that too from his friend. Rayyan was not home when the news came by. As
soon as Rayyan came, I asked him, “Is it true that they have nicknamed you
Maggie?” Without a twitch of change in expression he answered, “Yes”. With my
anger shooting up I asked, “Why didn’t you tell me this?” “What is so important
about it to tell you Maa. They are only calling me Maggie, they are not cooking
me in two minutes and eating me”. I gave up because I realized there is no use
talking to him about it. I was not even sure whether he was bothered or
enjoying the nickname like previously he did.

As much as Rayyan was unaffected by the whole episode, it
was not the same for me. I was angry, irritated, annoyed, cross, livid and many
other of such emotions. As I did not understand why Rayyan was unaffected he
did not understand why I was affected. I started doubting that may be he was
saying he loved noodles for lunch because he did not want me to cook anything
much early in the morning. He has never accepted that.

Rayyan will now realize while reading this post that it was
one of the biggest changing phase of my life. After that I worked hard to learn
good recipes, coastal cooking, and also recipes of different regions. In few
months’ time, I became an expert chef. From various cakes, puddings and fancy
foods, I was cooking great regular food as well. I think I had some knack for
cooking because when I experimented with changes, it turned out great. I tried
various biryanis and local traditional recipes and they all turned out great.
Soon, I was inviting many children for snacks and dinner and feeding them with
vengeance. I wanted them to realize that Rayyan’s mom was not just the Maggie
lady but could cook great food. The cutlets, bread pudding, milk shakes,
ice-creams, kheer and other dishes were loved by all. I continued feeding all
the children who were coming to me for tuitions. At times I would throw parties
to feed them. Even when Rayyan was in Arena Animation, his friends would be
invited just to have food. I still remember how much one of his friend, Diya
had loved the chicken curry.

Not stopping at feeding the children, I started cooking food
for my husband as well. I would cook rava laddoos, pickles and many other food
that would last him for few months in gulf and pack it off for him. They became
a craze in his work place as well. Though he is not easy to praise me, he still
recollects the taste of the pickle I used to make. The frenzy that started with
his nickname lasted for almost 12 years before it died down.

All those children who made fun of him may not have known
how much he has made adjustments so that his mom would not have to struggle.
Most of them may refuse to eat something they did not like, wear something that
is not neatly ironed, and made life difficult for their moms. I still feel very
emotional about that nickname because no one realized here was a child who did
not want his mom to struggle but would be ok being called Maggie. I am not sure
why, but it still makes me sad to know that no one actually appreciated him for
this.

Now, it is very rare that I invite his friends to eat with
us, but I do cook very special sandwiches, pastas, or even recently lasagne for
him. Farheena loves the food I cook, but the taste of that particular dish I
make only for Rayyan is always special. It is not like I am partial, but it
just happens. Anyway, Farheena will never even look at the new dishes I
prepare. So it is only for Rayyan that cook something very special
occasionally.

Rayyan will be shocked reading this post, because he may
have never realized how much the nickname had its impact on me because for him
it meant nothing. For me, it was the flow of all the adjustments he had made
from the tender of five, pampering his maa, ensuring that I get enough rest,
never letting me overdo things or stress myself and asking for instant noodles
for lunch so that I did not have to cook much in the morning. It is very
emotional for me to the extent of extracting tears. But then on the bright side
of it, he has tasted food that may be not many have tasted because they are my
own creations. Along with him, so many other people like my husband, my family
and his friends also enjoyed the great dishes I cooked. My own adjustment to
the bread pudding is something my family always fights over, no matter how much
I prepare it. So, all those who enjoyed my cooking, owe it to Rayyan’s nickname.